Is the Legal Drinking Age Good
Should we raise or lower the legal drinking age? The legal drinking age varies from place to place, in Canada the legal age goes from 18 to 19 years. But what are the effects different legal drinking ages have on long term alcohol addiction and alcohol related youth crimes. I’m interested because I am a quick to take part in skepticism, so when someone says drinking has a larger effect on youth I am quick to doubt unless objective evidence is given. Also one of my cousins (not named for privacy reasons) got what you would consider to be drunk before the age of 7 after he drank from half empty cans of beer left unattended, He turned out just fine and is living a happy life. The only negative effect was the headache the next morning.
In 1984 a bill known as the “National Minimum Drinking Age Act” commonly referred to as the MLDA21 Act was passed by congress. The National Minimum Drinking Age Act made the minimum legal age you could buy, possess, or drink alcohol for non-religious practices 21 years of age. According to a Harvard document the minimum drinking age and its effects, all 50 states of the USA reported “substantial heterogeneity in MLDA21’s effect”. Some states reported positive improvements in alcohol related crime rates, while other states reported little to no change. From table 5 of the Harvard study I have concluded that the MLDA21 had a level of effect that does not justify the implementation of the MLDA21 Act. Of the states that
Every year, thousands of deaths occur as a result of drunk driving, and every day people are facing the consequences of irresponsible drinking. Because of the issues caused by irresponsible drinking, the US government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984 which raised the minimum drinking age to twenty-one to prevent drinking-related accidents and violence. Despite the intent of its passing, it was a counterproductive decision. Because of the higher age restriction, high school upperclassmen and college underclassmen see drinking as an exciting, rebellious act. Consequentially, the National Minimum Drinking Age Act resulted in an increase in dangerous and irresponsible drinking which continues to this day. Not only does the
In 1984, the United States’ federal government passed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act. Under this act, the federal government gives highway funds to States that forbid people under the age of twenty-one years old from “purchasing or publicly possessing alcoholic beverages”(23 U.S.C. § 158). The incentive created a sense of a standardized minimum drinking age when legally there cannot be a federal minimum drinking age. Even though this Act has been in effect for decades, there are many debates on whether or not the age should be changed. The minimum legal drinking age should stay the same because it prevents a large number of drinking and driving accidents; it reduces overall alcohol consumption; and it has very horrible health effects on youth.
The legal age for drinking alcohol is 21, but people want to change it to 18 and think it’s a terrible idea. People think that changing the drinking age to 18 is a smart, but it really isn’t. There’s many reasons it shouldn’t be changed like, even more people would be irresponsible with alcohol, it will increase car accidents on the road, and younger teens will be able to have access to it.
In the United States, a citizen is considered an “adult” at the age of 18, and with that new title comes many responsibilities, such as the right to vote and to join the army. However, the legal drinking age in America is twenty-one. This issue has been a major controversy for some time now that faces both national and state governments. Should the drinking age be lowered to the age when legally a person becomes an adult and assumes all other adult responsibilities, or should it remain at a higher age to allow people to grow more mature and, hopefully, make more responsible decisions?
The national drinking age in the United States has been 21 years old since 1984. Most people support the law, but what are the real consequences if the minimum drinking age is lowered? In Henry Wechsler’s article called “Will Increasing Alcohol Availability by Lowering the Minimum Legal Drinking Age Decrease Drinking and Related Consequences Among Youths?”, shows both sides of the argument about whether the legal drinking age should be lowered.
For two generations, Americans have needed to be 21 – or own an ID that states as such – to legally purchase and consume alcohol (Griggs, 1). According to The World Health Organization “the U.S. [is] one of only a handful of developed countries –Iceland, Japan, South Korea and Thailand are others – with a minimum drinking age over 18” (Griggs, 1). When Ronald Reagan signed the National Minimum Drinking Age Act in 1984, its goal was to reduce less-mature adults from consuming alcohol and performing reckless acts (Cary, 1). However, despite the current drinking age, 17.5 percent of consumer spending for alcohol in 2013 was under the age of 21. It is estimated that “90 percent of underage drinking is consumed via binge drinking…with alcohol abuse becoming more prevalent among the country’s youth” (Aguirre, 1).
Alcohol is many people's drink of choice in several different situations. Whether it is a casual get together or a crazy out of control party, it is not hard for adolescents to get their hands on the substance even if it is illegal for them to purchase and drink it. However, even the parents and lawmakers of the most respectful teenagers can not ignore the growing rate of adolescents drinking earlier than 21. While it may be fun in the moment teens miss the steps of drinking responsibility and the long-term effects of partaking in it. Even though some lawmakers claim that lowering the drinking age would negatively affect the country, the long term effects of individuals drinking earlier could
Here in the United States, there is a law that prohibits youth 21 years of age and younger not to drink any alcohol beverages. However, in this country, anyone who turns 18 can sign up and be in the armed forces to protect the country. In the year 2001, war broke out between the Middle East and the United States and thousands of men and women were deployed to the Middle East to deal with the problem. While they were over there, the soldiers would witness many things that civilians could never dream of. In the book “An Angel in Hell” by Ryan A. Conklin, he stated he would always wake up hoping that that day was not the last day he would be on this Earth. He was always on high alert while on patrols, dodging bullets and shooting his own
When you turn 18, you consider an adult. You can vote, donate your own blood, buy your own property, buy guns, get a tattoo without parental consent, and can get prosecuted as an adult. Yet you can’t walk into your kitchen and drink a beer in United States at 18. All of this doesn't make sense considering that Civilrights.org explains how the 26th amendment sets precedence for adults in the United States to make their own decisions, but by have the drinking 21 we are not following this amendment.
In the United States when a person reaches eighteen they are considered an adult in the eyes of the law. Being an adult in the eyes of the law means mature enough to vote, buy cigarettes, be charged as an adult for crime, even enlist for the Military. The law says an eighteen-year-old is mature enough to make life-altering choices, but is not yet ready to consume or purchase alcohol (“Drinking Age is 21 For a Reason”). There has been an ongoing controversy in the United States on whether the drinking age should be depressed to eighteen like most of the world has it or if it should remain at twenty-one. In our society today, this topic has caused much of a stir due to its major controversy when in all actuality the answer is clear; the legal drinking age should be lowered.
Without a doubt, the United States has been facing serious national problems with underage drinking. Depending on personal ideologies, some people might not agree that the current minimum drinking age of twenty-one is based on scientific facts rather then ideology of prohibitionism. For example, since 1975 over seventeen thousand lives have been saved since the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was changed to age twenty-one (Balkin 167). This shows that even over a short amount of time, a higher MLDA helps decrease the risk of teen suicides, accidents and overdose deaths. However, this widely debated topic has inevitably brought attention to the plethora of supporting and opposing viewpoints. The minimum legal drinking age of twenty-one
According to “Mothers on drunk driving”http://www.madd.org moving the drinking age to 21 has saved 17,000 lives since it has been in effect. According to the “annual review of public health”http://www.annualreviews.org/journal/publhealth Alcohol has contributed to 1,700 deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 97,000 sexual assault cases. There's a part of the brain that rapidly changes throughout your teenage years. It's call the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex has to do with decision making and judgment. When it's not completely developed their is more of a chance to make the wrong decision, And being a teenager I know that I don't always make the right decisions in life but it's fine because everyone makes mistakes. Some seem to mess up a little more often than others. Consuming alcohol while your brain is still developing can the chance of having alcohol dependency. They might not develop right away as research states it usually happens down the road closer to the age of 25. Alcohol dependency is a previous psychiatric diagnosis in which an individual is physically or psychologically dependent upon drinking alcohol. There have been a fes rebel states that have lowered the drinking age for a small amount of time and they notice a increase in fatal crashes in the 18-20 year olds. Raising the drinking age to 21 has decreased crashes in 18-20 year olds by 13% which is approximately 27,775
Many under the age of 21 are getting in trouble with the law in alcohol related incidents, which wouldn?t take place if the drinking age was lowered. Many underage drinkers drink in more dangerous places in order to avoid law enforcement. "... when these young adults ?drink on the sly in unsupervised settings, they are
The controversy on the proper drinking age is one that has been repeatedly discussed and researched over the years. Its common to hear the argument “If someone is old enough to take a bullet for their country, they should be allowed to drink alcohol.” But is that enough justification? Some would say no. “According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) it is estimated that in 2004 there were more than 1,700 student deaths, 599,000 injuries, and 696,000 assaults annually associated with excessive drinking” (Fennell 247). Given these numbers, would lowering the drinking age really be the best thing for America’s youth?
The legal drinking age should not be lowered in the United States for the safety of all humans.